Shame On You Bono...

Anybody who has spent any time on my blog knows I am a huge Bono fan. I have several posts about him on this blog, I've met him and I have his signature tattooed on my calf. I'm a big fan. However, as of late a little tarnish has collected on the armor from my perspective. It's been a slow deterioration for me; maybe I know to much about Bono's life. I belong to the @u2 website which sends me an e-mail anytime anybody from U2 is mentioned anywhere in the world. You know, I get really tired of reading about how Bono has been spending his time on the French Riviera with Bradgelina and miscellaneous other celebrities. I don't need to know about the lavish parties and the expensive meals and bottles of wine. Yes, he's earned it and he's a big celebrity, but the thought started to creep in,

"How does Bono spend $3500 on a bottle of wine and then look one of these impoverished African folks he is trying to help in the eye? Isn't there more than a little hypocracy in jet setting in South France, spending more in a day that several of those families will see in a year and then asking ME for more money to support the cause?"

I even have tried to rationalize past that..."Well, maybe he works so hard on the cause that he deserves the splurge in order to relax on his down time". I've tried...Then I watched his interview on CNN a.m. a week or so ago...and I snapped. When asked what he thinks about the current financial crisis in America, he went off on some canned speech about how much malaria has been cured in Africa and then said something totally trite about the financial crisis. Immediately after that he went into his mechanical speech he's probably given 1,000,000 times about who has given money, who has not, and threw in a barb about how America hasn't come through with several million they original promised....

WHAT?????!!!! Did he not hear the part about "financial crisis"? Does he not understand how terrifying it is to be an average Joe in America faced with possible Depression Era circumstances? Let's take that a little farther: Does he not understand how embarrassing it is to watch what is happening to our native country as a consequence of an administration I NEVER voted for and had nothing to do with putting into power? Where does he get off saying what our country is shorting his cause on when "we" at large had very little to do with the current state of things. The majority of us didn't want this war, didn't want this administration and didn't want a lot of the travesty that has occurred during the last 8 years....Bono, how DARE you state what we haven't done to help YOU? We are just trying to keep our heads above water until we can actually get somebody into power who can roll up his sleeves and go to work trying to fix the mess that has been left for them.

I've enjoyed U2's music for 20 years now....A U2 concert has been my place I've found myself to be the happiest. I attended 5 different shows on the Vertigo Tour and I loved every one of them. I'm really curious as to how I'm going to react when the new album comes out...it better be a really good album, because right now Bono's politics and insensitivity has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I hope the one thing I used to enjoy more than any other isn't ruined as a result of it. Bono, I love what you've done for Africa, but you've been able to do it because we all adored you to celebrity status in the first place....and America played a huge part in that. I think I'd remember how to cluck cluck in sympathy in the right places right now and maybe drop the soap box for a minute once in awhile...